Dallas police officer arrested for manslaughter after shooting neighbor in apartment complex

(Image credit: Kaufman County Sheriff's Office via AP)

published 10 September 2018

Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger was arrested Sunday night on a manslaughter charge for fatally shooting her neighbor Botham Jean after apparently mistaking his apartment for her own. Guyger was booked into the Kaufman County jail at 7:20 p.m. but was no longer listed as an inmate by 8:30 p.m. Her bail was set at $300,000 and a jail employee told The Associated Press she had been released on bond. Jean, 26, was an employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers who grew up on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia and attended college in Arkansas. Guyger, who has been with the Dallas Police Department for almost five years, is white. Jean was black.

Jean's family had been calling for Guyger's arrest since the shooting on Thursday, suggesting she was receiving special treatment because she's a police officer. Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall said Saturday that the Texas Rangers, who took over the investigation on Friday, had asked that no warrant be issued because they wanted to investigate some new leads first. "I am grateful to Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall for her leadership and foresight in calling for the Rangers to handle the investigation to ensure there was no appearance of bias," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said in a statement on Sunday night.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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